The blog will offer purely objective and candid analyses for a better understanding of the events that keep happening and that provide dynamism and direction to the flow of the history and development of the human societies. Being a forum, the comments and opinions from readers whether for or against the views expressed in it, are gratefully welcome. Suggestions for improving the blog are welcome.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Obesity Crisis in America

By Saeed Qureshi

One shudders to learn that 61 %
American adults are obese or overweight. Overweight is a malady that is less
injurious than the obesity which when exceeds the BMI of 30, can cause premature
death. Obese people run 50-100 % increased risk of premature death than the
normal humans. Every year around 300,000 people die of obesity or excessive
fatness. Obesity is the second killer after smoking, which kills 400,000
Americans every year. The cumulative yearly financial loss to United States is
staggering $ 117 billion.

The deaths caused by obesity and overweight have doubled since 1980. In
children, it has increased three times. It is shocking that children should be
suffering from diabetes, blood pressure and heart problems which usually appear
in adults or in old age. All these horrifying statistics are mentioned in the
Surgeon General’s report, which further says that overweight and obesity
threaten the health gains of the American nation.

It is indeed a poignant warning which clearly connotes that the money
being spent on health or measures taken in that regard would become futile as
the nation would be overtaken by a deadly syndrome of obesity.

Human beings die of starvation, famine, and hunger but seldom because of
overeating. These are the bizarre absurdities and paradoxes of humanity that in
one part of the world the people die because of famine or mal- nutrition while
in other parts they leave this mundane world because they eat more than what
they should.

The urge for eating for many people in America has become an obsession or
a craze and there are several compelling reasons for that. Not only that the
reason for obesity is over eating but also the propensity for heavy intake of
junk and fat making food. Such foods are delicious mostly but gradually
adversely affect the natural metabolism and body chemistry.

The crudely obese and excessively heavy women and men as well as children
are the common sights in America.
Some of them walk with great difficulty. They swing left and right and can walk
by exerting greater force. They are handicapped by the very food whose main
purpose is to sustain life, provide energy and keep the people smart and
symmetrical.

It should be understood that the obesity that afflicts most of the
Americans is not of hereditary nature in which obesity travels from parents to
children and this process goes on. In America there might be such cases of
obesity but mostly the obesity prevalent in the American society is from excessive
eating, lack of exercise and precedence of leisure over physical activity.

The Surgeon General and other agencies monitoring the national health,
outline a host of factors that lead to obesity. These are eating of junk and
nutrient-lacking food, excessive watching of Television, lack of physical
exercise minimum for at least half of an hour, lack or inadequacy of physical
exercise facilities at schools, work, provision of improper food at educational
institutions and the shortage of parks for jogging or walking.

The report also underlines the need of educating both adults and children
about prevention from obesity and how to take physical exercise and maintain
their normal physiques. Besides daily physical activity and taking of nutrient
food, breast-feeding by expectant mothers has been pointed out as one single
factor that it serves as a natural check against obesity.

No one bothers about the Federal Food Guidelines aimed at preventing the
growing obesity. The schools are still giving the same old prescribed and
standardized food without realizing the baneful ramification of such a myopic
and straitjacket course. The shortage of parks still persists. Moreover, people
pressed by the time constraints because of work for earning more money, prefer
not going out for walking or jogging.

The security problem in parks and gardens or open places is yet another
compelling factor preventing citizens for a stroll in the fresh air and
straightening or stretching legs and limbs. The expectant women or those having
infants would not like to waste time on breast-feeding for keeping themselves
symmetrical and in good physical shape. Breast-feeding by the modern women is
considered as an uncultured or obsolete practice. In the first instance the
choice of many women trying to look smart is to have foster children than
having their own. The question of breath feeding in such cases does not arise.

America is a haven for food franchises.
There must be countless varieties of foods, cuisines and culinary recipes offered
by these franchisees serving fast food or otherwise. Most of the people are
used to eating fast food which normally consists of grilled, roasted or fried
chicken, beef, pork, fish served exclusively or in sandwiches or burgers.

Besides Pizzas, burgers, sandwiches, salads, soups, tacos, huge varieties
of other cooked foods are also served. It is very convenient to stay in front
of a fast food window while sitting in your car, order and get the stuff in a
few minutes. This is the usual practice that the people adopt and go by it as a
daily routine. The drinks taken with the food, carry lot of sugar in due
course, lead to diabetes both in adults and children.

Here in the United States there are innumerable Chinese, Korean, Thai,
Taiwanese, Indian, Mexican, Mediterranean, African and other countries’
restaurants. As such whatever food is separately available in those countries;
in America all these are simultaneously available presenting a mosaic of
culinary delicacies.

Fast food is primarily the American food culture. It is exclusively
unique to America alone although now it is also spreading to other countries
especially McDonalds, Subway etc, which are now becoming universal favorites.
The other fast food franchises are also taking a cue from the McDonalds.

The fast food is relished by the Americans, generations after
generations. It contains lot of cheese, meat and a good portion of sauces that
produce fat in the body. The food served at signature restaurants like Chili’s
and Olive Garden, is relatively expensive and therefore can be enjoyed only by
a particular section of the society with sizeable income. In such restaurants
one may spend many times more than on the fast food.

In these high profile restaurants, the cost depends upon the number of
people sharing the food. So the low and modest income sections mostly eat fast
food, which is relatively cheaper, does not involve hassle of waiting and at
the same time is delicious and can be shared by more people.

This intake of fast food, which becomes a matter of habit over the years,
adds fat and other undigested and surplus stuff in the body and ultimately
assumes the form of obesity. The overeating of ubiquitously available junk food
like chips etc with no physical exercise to burn this heavy load harms the
digestive system.

The fast food serves such people who are in a hurry or short of time or
money. While going to the office or coming back and at a limited lunchtime the
fast food takes a few minutes to pay and five minutes to eat. Thus one is used
to this kind of life for days, weeks, months and years. So an adult or a kid
who keeps on eating the same cheese, meat, sauce, salad for years naturally
start storing this stuff which besides filling the empty belly produces lot of
fat. Thus a dangerous process of accumulating fats in the body starts.

Those voracious or compulsive eaters, who eat passionately and with
gusto, conserve more fats and protein in their bodies. The body starts
ballooning and moving towards overweight and the deleterious obesity.

A good portion of TV and commercial ads is about food and eating-places.
These ads highlight in a mouth-watering manner the tasty, juicy and crispy aspects
of the food they are advertising. Besides, the size, the quantity, the price
and such features like second and the third layer or toppings are hammered in
the minds of the viewers to prompt them to prefer their recipes. Naturally one
is moved by all these enticing jingles.

The food franchisees can be divided according to their categories,
timings and menus. Some are open round the clock while some open in the morning
and close in the evening. Some serve only breakfast, and some only soups and
salad. Some of them merely sell sandwiches, some of these burgers and pizzas,
while other dish out snacks, wings and fried items such as chicken and fish. As
such there is a vast array and variety of food for every one, catering for
every pocket, and satisfying every taste and temperament.

America, thanks to franchised food looks like a vast display and service center
for a limitless variety of food recipes. This fast food culture has become an indispensable
feature in the American society. The vying food serving enterprises have their
own competition between themselves and therefore the prices of food keeps fluctuating:
some time dwindling and some time hiking. The industry of pre -cooked food is
always in big profit.

Working for long hours takes it own toll .One tends to either rest at bed
or else watch TV for hours. Those who are alone or even couples become habitual
of remaining before TV from the time of arrival in the house till the time of
going to bed. A majority seldom goes out for a walk or jogs or exercises for
either security reasons or simply due to sloth and laziness or fatigue .The
junk and rich food in the stomach needs additional physical labor to burn or to
digest. The result is fatness.

Children either stay at the school
or at homes. For them there is nothing interesting at home except to watch television.
The parents are away at work. Even if they are at home they may also take rest
along with their kids. It is reported that 40 per cent population does not do
any physical activity for one reason or the other.

On top of that, there is plentiful intake of sweet beverages and other
sugar-rich stuff like candies and chocolates. An American adult or adolescent
takes sugar many times more than is medically recommended. Sugar needs to be
burnt through walking or other kinds of physical labor, games, support or work
out, which for obvious reasons no one takes seriously.

Then what results can one expect from such a freakish situation? Not only
that the body starts swelling but serious diseases like asthma, diabetes, blood
pressure and even cancer start assailing the bodies. It is dismaying and
agonizing that 13 % children in America
are obese or overweight. Women folk are more obese than men, because they get
more leisure time than men do. Equally by remaining for longer time at home
they have more chance to eat more.

There is a section of society for whom physical labor or job is an
anathema. These people spend their lives on social security. From the social
security amount they buy drugs and some food and remain confined in doped state
to their residences till the next social security paycheck is due. Now how can such
breed of people remain physically fit who even are averse to taking up a job,
take the trouble of going out in a park or open place for jogging or short
stroll? Thus they develop lethargy. With the lethargy comes overweight and
finally obesity. It is a segment of society, which seems lost and isolated from
the fellow citizens. The drug addicts either die of loss of weight or
overweight. Many among them land in jails.

The most alarming part of this whole sordid saga is that there is very
little realization at the official level. Even on the citizenry level, there is
scant awareness about an impending disaster of stupendous proportions. That the
precious lives are being driven to the valley of death and the living getting
obese and developing serious diseases and rendering themselves unable to cope
with the stress of life and hard work. It forebodes a very dismal and murky
situation for the future of this nation.

No doubt one third of the population is concerned about the growing
menace of obesity and overweight but that concern does not help in containing
obesity. The nation is getting obese at an alarming rate; while already over 60
% among adults and 13 % of the youth, the flower of the nation, are already
physically disfigured or have disproportionate bodies.

Those who have time and money can afford to go to GYMs, SPAs and slimming
centers to keep them in good shape. These slimming and physical fitness centers
are minting money. Their number is mushrooming. But here the problem is that if
one can afford to visit such centers for the whole life and with regularity
then obesity can be kept at bay.

But regularity is not possible. After a certain period of time a person
has to discontinue for the reasons that his work or office schedule has changed
or his domestic or financial circumstances do not allow him to attend the gyms
and slimming centers regularly.

The moment they dispense with the exercise, the process of putting up
weight starts once again. With the negligence towards this new situation, one
reaches the same level of weight on which he had been before the physical
exercise. So literally one is back to the square one.

The owners or managers of these slimming or fitness centers are experts
of human psyche and aware of the predicament of the overweight people. They
have their own services or products to sell. Mindful of the laziness of the
people in coming out of their houses or offices and also aware of the fact that
apportioning of time for a physical activity was a problem for so many, these
slimming centers, of late, instead of physical exercise, have started selling
the recipes in shape of drugs which one can use in the comforts and privacy of
their houses to get slim pr physically fit. As such, besides physical fitness
centers, the slimming clinics have also proliferated.

These clinics make incredible offers bordering on miracles and short
terms drugs for reducing the weight. These drugs, medicines or prescriptions
whatever, one may call them, are not only expensive but on the whole injurious
in the long run. They may contain toxic elements, which burn the extra fat but
leave also other harmful side-effects. This is yet an unnatural and artificial
way of quick fixing of bulkiness which may work for the time being but turn out
to be immensely disadvantageous in the longer run.

That is why instead of lessening the obesity such clinics are making the
matters worse and contributing deterioration of the national health. There are
better ways of doing things and saving the nation from a total disaster that
has started undermining the health of a great nation. What is then the best way
out and safe way of doing things?

We know that with most of the people, the obesity is not hereditary. It
results from over eating; the eating of junk and fatty foods, spending time in
leisure and resting and by ignoring the indispensable physical activity. Most
of us may want to reduce their excessive weight by walking or jogging but
cannot do so because of time constraints or security reasons. On top of it is
the monetary aspect, which may hinder the regular attendance of slim or body
fitness centers. Therefore, the time has come that the government will have to
intervene with all the seriousness. Laws have to be made to check the growing
obesity in the nation.

How can these laws be framed and mandatorily implemented? Let the government;
first of all, declare the obesity as a national calamity. Thereafter, it should
act fast and with firmness on the enforcement of anti-obesity measures. The
first step towards this direction would be to change and then check the food
culture as being served for ages in the franchisees and private eateries. The
change should be in accordance with the five food guidelines of the federal
government with regard to use of various ingredients of food such as grains,
meat, dairy products, fruits and vegetables.

These guidelines ordain half of an hour physical activity for every one
about five days a week. How this can be implemented? If compliance of these
rules were left on the sweet will of the people, the result would remain the
same as is evident now. Let these rules be implemented by the authorities with
full force in educational institutions, offices and work places also.

The obese people should, in the
first place, not be given jobs until they reduce themselves weight-wise. That
would impel them to resort to fitness of their bodies. During the office
timings, employer must allocate half an hour for an organized physical activity
at the premises to be administered and executed by the experts hired for this
purpose.

It should be officially incumbent upon the factory owners or the
employers to ensure daily physical activity at their facilities. The health
authorities should monitor and check such activities actually taking place. The
defaulters or non-compliant employers should be heavily fined. In this way
several purposes would be served at the same time one of which is that the working
citizens would receive the required labor to maintain the normal weight and
ward-off overweight. The slim centers too would get the business and thus they
would be happy. While the employees would receive the physical fitness exercise
the cost would be borne by the employers.

In educational institutions, the physical training must be made mandatory
to be done in the morning before the start of the classes. In colleges the students
who come at different times or once or twice in a week to the colleges, should also
be mandated to take the physical exercise. For this purpose a physical
instructor should be part of the staff to impart such training. Thus the
students, also per force, would be able to prevent overweight. It could
otherwise be made obligatory for students to not exceed their weight beyond a
certain level. Regular weight checks should be administered at schools and
colleges.

For jobless and other kind of citizens surviving on social security, it
can be made obligatory, that only those would receive the full amount who would
look physically normal. For affluent and higher circles of society, the problem
should not be acute or a matter of major concern. For obese people among the
rich or elite some kind of additional taxation can be introduced which is the
best and the most effective way of dealing with their fatness. More parks and
jogging tracks are imperative to cater for most of the people to take long
walks and if necessary jogging or running fast. Security and protection at such
places must be ensured.

The basic problem is that while we are aware of the gravity of the
obesity, we have failed to stem it. Perhaps the fundamental reason is that
overweight or obesity is treated as a private or personal matter of citizens.
The state governments do not want to interfere in such matters considering them
as sacrosanct and as an encroachment upon the individual or personal freedom of
citizens.

But it needs to be realized that this personal matter has assumed an
epidemic proportion pregnant with disastrous ramifications. It is no more a
private or personal problem. It is a grave matter of health for the entire
nation. It has therefore, got to be tackled on national and on war-footing
level. Any half hearted, half-baked measures would fail to produce the desired
results. As such a national anti -obesity campaign needs to be mounted

Obesity should be treated an affliction, an abuse or abhorrence to be rid
off at once like cancer or infectious diseases. If obesity were not dealt with
the urgent attention it needs, sooner or later a big part of the population
would enter the domains of disability and inactivity. That would spell doom for
the creative faculties of the nation. Who then would work and deliver on such
matters in which alacrity and smartness in needed?

There is no gainsaying that the terrorists may not subdue the undaunted
spirit of the American nation or cause as high security alerts for us as the
obesity would do in the future which is the silent enemy and surreptitious
killer. We must not take pride in the self-assurance that we are the most well-fed
nation and that this is the only nation where surplus food is a problem and not
the shortage of food. Some surplus food goes into trash and the other in the
bellies. Let us be austere in our eating habit, which means eating less and
eating nutritious food.

By curtailing obesity the cost on national health care would drastically
come down. The health care centers and hospitals would be less populated, there
would less needs of medicines, less costly equipment for the hospitals to buy
and less number of medical staff.

But the most redeeming features would be less fleecing and exploitation
by the health insurance companies that have become more like money minting
mafias. There could be more oversight and accountability for the overcharging
companies, pharmacies and manufacturing of drugs and medicines and equipment.

So the health care budget that now supersedes the defense budget of the
United States could be enormously reduced. The money thus saved could be
diverted to medical research projects besides enhancing the social security income,
expanding the benefits like food stamps and providing housing to the poor
sections of society.

About Me

Columnist/Analyst/ Former Diplomat.
After obtaining my master’s degrees in Urdu and English literature from Punjab University, I started my career by teaching in a college. Thereafter, I had a stint in the diplomatic service of Pakistan. Finally I landed in journalism, an occupation that I am wedded to for over 20 years now.
I am a strong believer in a civil society and staunch opponent of exploitation in all forms.